All Rise...

The Charge

Experience the magic in stunning Blu-ray high-definition!

The Case

I need to start by revealing a bias towards this release: I love
pretty much all things Disney. While I haven't been to Walt Disney World yet,
I've visited Disneyland as an 8-year-old, again on my honeymoon, and twice since
with my wife and children. From my experience, Disney can be a bit like bagpipe
music—leaving people loving it with childlike abandon, or hating it with
the near-religious fervor of Ebenezer Scrooge! Fortunately, many of my closest
friends share my addiction, so I am in good company.

Rather than spend time talking about Walt Disney and his creative genius or
rehashing the history of his company, I'll dive right into the content on
Disney Parks: The Secrets, Stories and Magic Behind the Scenes. The title
may seem familiar to Disney fans, as the studio released a title of their own
called Walt Disney Treasures: Disneyland: Secrets, Stories and Magic.
While both deal with the Disney empire, its history and the parks, the
"Treasures" title is significantly more comprehensive; digging deeper
to reveal some truly remarkable footage, while capturing living Disney legends
on film.

Disney Parks is divided into three sections: "Disneyland Resort:
Behind the Scenes," "Undiscovered Disney Parks," and
"Ultimate Walt Disney World." As their names imply, each deal with a
specific park or grouping within the overall Disney umbrella.

• "Disneyland Resort: Behind the Scenes" It's
fitting to begin an exploration of the Disney attractions and theme parks with
the Anaheim flagship. Opening with just 20 attractions on July 18, 1955,
Disneyland has grown and evolved over the years; expanding, modifying, and
adding new attractions to keep pace, not only with the changing amusement park
industry, but also with the demands of its guests. More than 50 years later,
Disneyland includes some of the world's most famous attractions, from Pirates
of the Caribbean, Jungle Cruise, and The Haunted Mansion, to
more recent icons like Star Tours, Indiana Jones Adventure, and
Buzz Lightyear Astro Blasters.

Halfway through this section, the focus switches to Disney's California
Adventure (DCA), a more contemporary park that opened in February 2001. Despite
a somewhat rocky start, DCA has undergone some recent changes and planned
additions covered in this release; intended to improve the park's appeal, while
increasing its "Disneyness." Even with a slight identity complex, DCA
features unique and thrilling attractions like Grizzly River Run,
California Screamin', and Soarin' Over California—all
covered in detail here.

• "Undiscovered Disney Parks" The name may be a
bit misleading, as this section deals not so much with undiscovered parks per
se, but more with attractions many guests who have only visited the main gates
may have missed. There is actually more than a small amount of overlap and
redundancy between this section and the others, as it too covers notable
attractions in both Anaheim and Orlando. New content is addressed through
non-traditional attractions like the Richard Petty Driving Experience,
water parks Typhoon Lagoon and Blizzard Beach, VIP tours, the
DisneyQuest interactive game center, and more. The segment also takes a
look at the parks' holiday-themed decorations that Disney does like no one
else.

• "Ultimate Walt Disney World" Realizing that
only 2% of his Disneyland guests came from east of the Mississippi River, where
75% of the U.S. population lived, Walt Disney began looking for land to open a
second park to meet the needs of that significant potential audience. Sadly,
Walt died in December 1966, before his dream of a new park could be realized.
Fortunately, Walt's older brother Roy delayed his retirement to oversee
construction of the first phase of the new project. At 25,000 acres, Walt Disney
World is the world's largest and most visited recreational resort.

While Disneyland offers two complete theme parks and an array of unique
retail experiences and accommodations, the Disney World offers four unique theme
parks, two water parks, 24 themed hotels, and a wide array of other
entertainment options. As one can imagine, there's far too little time allocated
to this section of Disney Parks to offer more than a superficial look at
the nearly incomprehensible volume of things there are to see and do at the
Magic Kingdom, Epcot, Disney's Hollywood Studios, and Animal Kingdom. Some of
the highlights visitors will find covered in the previous "Disneyland" segment
are duplicated here, since both parks share some of the same
attractions—Pirates of the Caribbean, Haunted Mansion, the
Twilight Zone Tower of Terror, and more. Despite that fact, there is a
wealth of unique content in this section that will entice Dis-no-philes (like
me!) to make the Florida pilgrimage.

Granted, when it comes to Disney, I'm relatively easy to please, but I'm
delighted to say that Disney Parks looks glorious on Blu-ray. The magic
of Disney is perfectly matched with the 1080p clarity, color, and contrast of
this release, making much of the magic all but jump off the screen. Aside from
overtly perky narration, the Dolby 2.0 stereo mix complements the video
presentation, offering excellent balance, especially for a production of this
kind.

The bonus features are quite impressive, delivering no less than nine short
featurettes that take a closer look at specific features or attractions:
"King Arthur Carousel," "Disney's Resort Hotel," "Tips
for Travelers," "The Disney Dream," "Disney Dream
AquaDuck," and "The Haunted Mansion." The one conspicuous member
of this list is definitely "Tips for Travelers"; if you were under the
impression this release isn't intended to whet new travelers' appetites or
entice returning guests back to the turnstiles, you'd be wrong. This release
also includes both DVD and digital copies.

Despite my reservations that Disney Parks would be little more than a
glitzy marketing tool, Questar has delivered an attractive package that belongs
in the libraries of longtime fans, and alongside the travel guides of anyone
planning to visit a Disney resort. Sure, there's a relatively shameless plug for
travel bookings at the end of each segment, but ultimately, that's what most of
us want to do, isn't it?

The Verdict

Not guilty. Relive the magic, or experience it for the very first time.

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